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The Irish Times reports that Vodafone has admitted it may not buy a third-generation mobile licence in Ireland. If Vodafone does not take the licence, it would face significant interest penalties and lose the deposit it has paid to the telecoms regulator, but it would be spared the expensive roll-out costs for the network.
The paper also reports that IBM Ireland's new General Manager Michael Daly said he is lobbying the company's parent corporation to bring more of its research and development to Ireland, including supercomputer development. The company employs more than 4,000 people in Ireland.
The same paper reports that e-travel software company Datalex said it has been approached by prospective buyers but has rejected offers. The company's Chief Executive Neil Beck said Datalex's management has also given some consideration to taking it private. Datalex has cut staff numbers from 500 to about 300 people in its restructuring.
The Irish Independent reports that NTL Ireland has violated the requirements of its MMDS licence because it has still not digitised its signal in parts of Dublin, Galway and Mayo. The paper said NTL is in negotiations that may lead to the sale of the three licences. MMDS or Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service, also known as "wireless cable," delivers its signal using a central broadcast antenna instead of cables.
The paper also reports that the US data protection company Quantum Peripheral Products may create 120 additional jobs in Dundalk, where it already employs some 280 people. Get the full story in ElectricNews.Net's Investment section.
The Financial Times reports that Fujitsu has announced 2,100 new job cuts for its business in Japan, including the closure of one of its Japanese plants. The cuts at the company, which makes semiconductors and electronics, follow 16,000 cuts made at the company's international operations last year.
The paper also reports that Dell reported a 16 percent rise in net income for its second quarter. The company, which has continued to gain market share from competitors, also predicted it would reach USD8.9 billion in revenues for the current quarter. Read the full report in ElectricNews.Net's Markets section.
The paper also reports that Vivendi Universal will invest no further funds in Vizzavi, its troubled Internet joint venture with Vodafone. The two companies have already put EUR1 billion into the joint venture, which has 700 staff. Vizzavi was launched in 2000 but has struggled in the face of limited demand for wireless data services and the delay in 3G deployment, the paper said.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Jack Grubman, the controversial telecoms analyst, has resigned from Salomon Smith Barney, a unit of Citigroup. The paper said The National Association of Securities Dealers has gathered evidence that Salomon let executives at client companies buy discount shares in popular initial public offerings. Grubman told US Congressional investigators last month that he "couldn't remember" whether he had offered such deals to telecom executives like former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers.
The paper also reports on a depressed outlook for the semiconductor equipment industry, following a Standard & Poor's report that orders for the industry will fall another 30 percent this year. Equipment makers are facing price pressure, with customers like Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices saying they have negotiated lower prices for equipment they have ordered in recent months.
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